THIS MONTH you get a little bit of an old
saw, a few paragraphs on a really obvious
pool of potential flying sites, and below are
a few paragraphs and some neat pictures of
some innovative park flyer activity.
I’ve just returned from a meeting in San
Diego, California. My usual meetings are
with local clubs or with government
officials at all levels as we try to hammer
out agreements for new flying sites, or as
we try to determine how best to save an
existing site that might be in danger of
being closed.
This meeting was an association
meeting—an association of the many
separate AMA flying clubs in the San Diego
area. CL, Soaring, RC fixed-propeller
aircraft, RC helicopters … virtually all
disciplines are in the same room with the
same cares and concerns. Forming the
association was a smart move on the part of
the local modelers.
There is safety in numbers as the old
adage goes, but there is also strength in
those same numbers. Everytime I meet with
elected officials to talk about flying-site
issues, I am treated with dignity and respect.
When I meet with elected officials I am
also asked the I’m-only-here-because-theyvoted-
for-me question: “Who are you here
to help?”
If I answer “These two fellows over here
who want a place to fly,” I get polite nods. If
I answer “The 1,800 members of the XYZ
Model Aviators Consortium,” I get serious
attention.
There is political strength in numbers and
if you join or form an association of AMA
flying clubs in your area, you can take
advantage of that strength. If you can’t be
bothered, then prepare for polite nods.
Other advantages of association
membership include such things as a greater
“idea pool” for solving local problems, a
greater work-force network for projects with
Flying Site Assistance
Wes De Cou | [email protected]
The great resource for new sites these days is ... get ready ... old sites!
AMA News
Announcements, news, and information from the
Academy of Model Aeronautics and the elected district representatives.
166 MODEL AVIATION
Park Flyers: I’m not sure what defines a park flyer, but I see many of them at my local parks. Recently I was headed to a meeting in
a neighboring community when out of the corner of my eye I saw an AmericaWest (now USAir) 747 on final approach for second
base at a local softball field. I had to stop!
In short order I had corralled (aww shucks folks, I am in Arizona) Mike Neff, a USAir pilot and avid modeler, and was grilling
him on the great electric model he had created. He made
the model using Depron and a European Card Model
(ECM) pattern.
ECMs are patterns designed to be cut from paper.
The cuts are quite intricate, and result in contours which
match the shape of the full-scale subjects. Using 3mm
Depron, an enlarged ECM pattern, carbon fiber, balsa,
basswood, and a bit of ingenuity, Mike created the 3.2-
pound Boeing 747 you see in the pictures.
The aircraft takes off in the space of the infield at the
ball field, flies nicely within the confines of the park,
and lands in a few feet on the outfield grass. As you can
see, only two of the four nacelles have motors.
Nifty park flyer! It’s so easy even I could do it!
The front view of the aircraft shows motors in nacelles
Builder Mike Neff and the park flyer. two and three.
Mike’s 747 on climbout.
Flying Site Assistance continued on page 167
May 2007 167
NOMINATIONS for the offices of
President and Vice Presidents in Districts I,
V, and IX are due at the Headquarters of the
Academy of Model Aeronautics July 13,
2007. Any AMA Open member may submit
a nomination.
To be eligible to discharge the duties of
AMA President, a nominee must be a Leader
Member and must have previously served as
a member of the Executive Council or as an
Associate Vice President or as a Contest
Board member for at least one year.
To be eligible to discharge the duties of
AMA Vice President, a nominee must be a
Leader Member of the Academy and must
reside in the District.
(Nominees and nominators will be
notified by HQ confirming receipt of
nomination.)
(If confirmation is not received within
two [2] weeks after you have mailed your
document, contact Mary Lou at (765) 287-
1256, extention 201.)
A letter of acceptance and a résumé of
professional qualifications and model
aviation experience from the nominee must
be on file at AMA Headquarters by July 27,
2007, fifteen (15) days prior to the published
meeting date.
Nominating Procedure Document
Relating to Article IX
Approved November 1, 2003
Candidate Guidelines
(a) No person may nominate him/herself for
office.
(b) No person shall simultaneously hold two
positions on the Executive Council. In the
event a person holding an office is elected
or selected to a second position on the
Executive Council, that person must
choose which of the two positions he/she
will continue, such decision to be made
within 48 hours of the announcement of
the selection, or else the person so
affected will be deemed to have selected
to remain in the first office held.
(c) Incumbent is automatically placed on the
ballot, provided that he/she has been
properly nominated and accepted, except
that a 3/4 vote against may withhold the
incumbent’s name from the ballot (see
Bylaws, Article IX, Section 2).
(d) All nomination letters must be received at
AMA Headquarters thirty (30) days prior
to the convening of the Nominating
Committee Annual Meeting. If received
by electronic mail or fax, it must be
received by close of that business day at
AMA Headquarters, Muncie, Indiana.
(e) Candidate must be a legal resident of the
district in which the election is being
held; this does not apply to the office of
President or Executive Vice President.
(f) Candidate must be a current AMA
member with Leader Member status
(other qualifications apply to the office of
President and Executive Vice President,
Article IX, Section 2).
(g) No person elected to and serving as an
active member of the Executive Council
shall be paid for any regular column or
article in Model Aviation magazine.
Exception may be made for such articles
as the coverage of special events
provided prior arrangement was made for
said article. Articles and columns printed
in the AMA News section are not paid
contributions. No paid columns may be
submitted after the individual has been
placed on the ballot.
Candidate Acceptance:
(a) A letter of acceptance by the candidate
must be on file at AMA Headquarters
fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting; if
by electronic mail or fax it must be
received by close of that business day at
AMA Headquarters, Muncie, Indiana.
(b) Along with a résumé of professional
qualifications and model aviation
experience, your résumé should include,
but not be limited to, the following areas
of consideration. (Note: all candidates
must have their campaign statement
ready to be delivered to AMA
Headquarters no later than August 1.)
1. Management experience.
2. Financial background.
3. Insurance employment and/or expertise.
4. Legal background.
5. Technical background, including areas of
aeronautics, electronics (especially in
radio frequency propagation and usage),
acoustics (as related to noise studies and
analysis), and other areas of engineering.
6. Aeromodeling background must be noted.
The individual will be required, if elected
to national office, to deal with questions
related to all areas of aeromodeling and
should have a broad-based background.
(c) It is strongly recommended that these
documents be mailed certified, receipt
requested.
AMA President and District Vice Presidents Nominations Due
a common goal, and a greater publicity
potential for local flying events through such
things as club newsletter exchanges.
Of course you also have the potential for
meeting new friends who share your love for
some form of model aviation. I knew a CL
aficionado once who gave a great elevator
linkage idea to an RC buff. Who knew?
On the really bright side, consider this:
you can have all of the advantages of an
association and meet as infrequently as once
per year! The San Diego group meets
infrequently. The CAMAC group (Central
Arizona Modelers Advisory Council) meets
once a year. That’s a small inconvenience—
or is it a convenience?—for such an
advantage.
Between formal meetings the
associations use E-mail as the prime means
of communications. You can go ahead and
call that one member who refuses to get a
computer on the telephone …
I have some reminders on site acquisition. If
you don’t have a Site Acquisition
Committee in your club, get one—even if
it’s a committee of one.
Find some people who have a little time
and who are willing to pound the pavement
in search of likely sites. Use members who
like to talk to people because those who own
land you might be able to use for a flying
site are only people.
If you have a secure flying site, put
someone in charge of finding a second
secure site. I get frequent calls from
members who have just been booted from
the site “we’ve had forever!”
The great resource for new sites these
days is … get ready … old sites! If your
club has lost a site in the past millennium
primarily because of the noise issue, go after
that site as an electric venue. E-fields are the
current rage. When you make a compelling
case for a nearly noiseless model aviation
site and include the recreational and
educational advantages of the sport, local
recreation directors listen.
Near my home in Phoenix, Arizona,
we’ve established a great E-field in the
middle of high-density residential
developments. Rather than having them
complain, we see local residents getting
involved in the sport.
Revisit flying site problems you’ve
encountered in the past. If noise was the
culprit, consider a new request with a
“switch” to electric.
Wes De Cou, Coordinator
Western Region
Districts VIII - XI
202 W. Desert Flower Ln.,
Phoenix AZ 85045
Voice: (480) 460-9466;
Cell: (480) 296-9515
Fax: (480) 460-9434
E-mail: [email protected]
Joe Beshar, Coordinator
Eastern Region
Districts I - VII
198 Merritt Dr., Oradell NJ 07649
Tel.: (201) 261-1281;
Fax: (201) 261-0223
E-mail: [email protected]
Finding—Preserving—Maintaining
Flying Site Assistance continued from page 166